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Week 6 Thoughts

10-19-2009, 02:27 AM

I'll add something about the MNF game, but I have a lot on my agenda tomorrow so I figure I will post something now:

It Is Early, Yet..

The Saints are the best team in the NFL. The Colts are right up there with them, but I would give the Saints the edge because they have a much better running game and the defense is playing a little better. This team has impressed me much more than the 2006 team that went to the NFCCG.

What I like is they've shown they can win with defense and a running game and they don't rely on Brees slinging it around, although they are fine doing that. Pierre Thomas has been quietly becoming one of the NFL's best backs. They need to keep feeding him the ball and with him, Bell and Bush they should be able to grind out a lot of wins.

With that being said: They still have two games against a 4-1 Atlanta Falcons team that lost its only game to a strong Patriots team in Foxboro. I've said it before, I think the two games could amount to 150 total points. Both defenses are opportunistic and certainly both offenses are legit.

There is still a long way to go, but as of this moment the Saints are the front-runners.
Strange That We All Forgot About Them

The Arizona Cardinals made it to their first Super Bowl and nearly won it. They started slow and a lot of us chalked it up to the SB losers curse. Now they are tied for the division lead and I would give them the advantage going forward. Kurt Warner, contrary to what I thought, has maintained an elite level of play and I trust him over Shaun Hill in a tight division race. The run defense has played exceptionally well and if they could get Beanie Wells going (he is stuck in a Mendenhall like purgatory) they could really go off.

What's Wrong With Tom Brady?

Now we will see a transition from Ron Jaworski's incoherent rambling about Brady's struggles to Ron Jaworski's incoherent rambling about his successes. At the end of the day I don't think anything was wrong with him to begin with. He has had some tough match-ups and has had struggles with the line in front of him. The Titans secondary, however, is the cure to all passing game woes.

I would say that New England is a team that is very dangerous. I know people have talked about the Broncos and Colts as being front-runners, if I were them however I would be terrified of facing New England in the playoffs. They are not quite as good as they were in 2007, they are probably better than they were in 2004 and 2005 though.

The NFC Least

This division has imploded thus far. What has happened, I think, is all the teams were forced into making high risk maneuvers to stay competitive with one another and it hasn't paid off. Only the Giants stuck with their draft philosophy to fill their needs and it is no coincidence that they are the best team in the division. When will teams learn not to rely on big acquisitions? In a high pressure media environment with high expectations it is hard to resist the temptation to trade for a Roy Williams or sign an Albert Haynesworth.

These teams just are not consistently good football teams. The Eagles can look great, then they go out and lose to the hapless Raiders. The Cowboys barely beat the Chiefs before the bye week off of the gift of two missed tackles by Mike Brown. The Redskins cannot even eek out a winning record against winless teams. I think it is safe to say that the NFC North and South are superior divisions right now.

The Best Ravens Player Is Named Ray

Rice, not Lewis. It has been an interesting thing to watch the Ravens become an offensive football team; but when you have Ray Rice and Joe Flacco, why not? I have not seen a RB with that kind of balance in a long time, he just keeps upright and moving forward. Right now he is on pace for a 1,176 yard rushing, 867 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. Behind that O-Line and with the weather going south soon I see no reason he won't meet those numbers. I know many liked Rice coming out of Rutgets, I know I did, but how many people saw him being this good?

Missed Opportunities

The Houston Texans were a sexy pick as a playoff team this year. They should be in the hunt, but due to a few mistakes they are still quite a ways behind. Matt Schaub has become a legitimate NFL QB and as long as he stays healthy the Texans can score with the best of them. Unfortunately the run defense took a while to appear, they have been strong in the last two games though. But the biggest problem is their running game; Chris Brown (he's still in the league?) single-handedly lost two games at the goal line, Steve Slaton hasn't been nearly as effective as he was as a rookie and they have shown no signs of life in that facet of the game. They were two plays away from being 5-1, but now they are 3-3 and have an uphill path to the playoffs.

How to Build a Top Flight Team

Let us look at the 2008 Atlanta Falcons draft:

1. Matt Ryan -I don't really need to go into too much depth into why this was a great pick. He wildly out-performed my expectations for him, especially when it comes to his intelligence and arm strength.

1. Sam Baker - Has been stellar at LT, very balanced in all facets of the game. It sure doesn't seem like his "short" arms have impacted his performance.

2. Curtis Lofton - Has been phenomenal at MLB and has really come along this year. He hasn't had the best NT in front of him either.

3. Chevis Jackson - He hasn't made an impact like I would have hoped.

3. Harry Douglas - Tore his ACL, but was an exciting weapon as a rookie and should be a great slot receiver once he comes back.

3. Thomas Decoud - Has been a big surprise for us. He has been very good in both coverage and in the run game.

5. Robert James - No impact.

5. Kroy Biermann - He reminds me of a young Patrick Kerney. High motor and has three sacks in five games. Has surplanted Jamaal Anderson at LE.

Comment

Much props for the Saints' praise, Shiver, even though I'm sure it makes you feel dirty.

Now please stop talking about us. kkthxbi

The whole world loves neophyte athletic tight end Jimmy Graham from Miami with the 95th pick. "Best pick in the draft,'' one AFC coach told me. "Give him time, and in that offense, he'll be better than [Jeremy] Shockey by the start of next year.''

“We know that no matter the adversity, be it the lockout, be it the suspension or be it a hurricane, our men will pull together and defend the honor of this city. We’ve shown we’ve been able to do that.” - Jabari Greer

Comment

I will admit I was wrong about Matt Ryan. I didn't see the hype since he threw 19 interceptions as a senior but still Dolphins made the right pick. Jake Long is a franchise Left Tackle and is the best run blocking LT in the game. Sure he got abused week 1 but he also had a bad week 1 in his rookie year then never looked back.

Comment

Amazing how well it appears we've made out in that draft. You're really not going to do much better than adding a franchise QB and studs at MLB and LT. Plus DeCoud who looks like he's got something and a good pass rusher late in the draft. Incredible. I love TD.

I can't wait for the Saints-Falcons game. It's going to be a good one for sure. I can't see us winning, but I do believe it will be close. And when it's close, anything can happen.

Comment

Well the Skins signing Albert Haynesworth is not the reason why we are bad. He has been an absolute monster and our pass rush is night and day from last year. The problem is that we have no QB, no O-line, and no DB's, these are all problems that we couldn't have fixed this past offseason and were just an accumulation of what Snyder's been doing for years, but in no way was our offseason this past year the reason why we are the worst team in the league. I mean our acquisitions Albert, Dockery, Hunter Smith, Orakpo, Jarmon are some of the only consistent players on our team.